Rough 3rd quarter sinks Fort Cherry in loss to Rochester
CORAOPOLIS – After beating Rochester by 32 points in a nonsection game in mid-January, the Fort Cherry girls basketball team seemed like a big favorite entering Friday’s WPIAL quarterfinals matchup.
But the game wasn’t played on paper.
It was on the hardwood at Moon Area High School and Rochester reversed the result.
A rough third quarter for the No. 4 Rangers allowed No. 5 Rochester to take control of the game and held on late to secure a 47-39 victory in the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals.
In the second game of the night, No. 2 Winchester Thurston cruised to a 59-20 win over No. 7 Burgettstown in another Class 2A girls quarterfinal.
Fort Cherry played without Allison Litman, who is out for the season due to injury. Rangers coach Clarence Edwards said her presence was missed on the court, but gave full credit to Rochester for a deserved win.
“We didn’t win the rebounding game, and that’s what killed us,” Edwards said. “Alison is a big key for us rebounding and obviously it showed. The first game we handled the boards and we contained their attack. Tonight it was a different story.
“You have to give Rochester all the credit. They came here and played hard and physical and I knew they were going to do that, because they’re a Beaver County school. That’s what they do.”
The Rangers (17-6) lost in the quarterfinals for the third straight year. They’ll continue their season in the consolation bracket. Rochester advanced to play No. 1 Neshannock in Tuesday’s semifinals.
“When they beat us the first time, we knew we had to correct some things, but we also knew that the postseason is a different season,” Rochester coach Ron Moncrief said. “We knew if we could fix a couple things we had a chance to win here tonight and that’s what we did.”
Fort Cherry blitzed Rochester, 63-31, on Jan. 15, but the Rams stayed right with the Rangers throughout the rematch.
The Rangers led 26-23 at halftime, but a long cold spell allowed Rochester to tie the game midway through the third quarter.
Tia Yellock made a layup after a turnover by Fort Cherry to even the score at 26-26.
Kamryn Newman made a three to give the Rams the lead.
Fort Cherry did not make a basket in the third until Julie Klose put in a layup at the 1:28 mark. It was the only field goal in the quarter, which Rochester won 14-3 to take a 37-29 lead.
“You can’t score three points in a quarter,” Edwards said. “That was brutal. We put up shots, left and right and they didn’t go in.”
Fort Cherry got to within two points in the fourth when Brooke Cornali made a layup, but Rochester responded by sinking six straight free throws to close it out.
The Rams used three-point shooting and offensive rebounding to keep pace early on.
Kamryn Newman, Tia Yellock, Neveah Squires and Gemma Sisco hit one three apiece in the first half. A couple of those makes came after Rochester had grabbed an offensive rebound.
Newman had a game-high 19 points for Rochester and Yellock scored 15.
Cornali led Fort Cherry with 15 points, but fouled out late.
The Rangers will now regroup and try to qualify for the state tournament for a third straight year. They need one win in the consolation bracket to earn a spot.
“I told the girls that the season is not over,” Edwards said. “We have to play for the No. 5 seed now. At the end of the day, you have to keep your head up and get ready for that game.”
Winchester Thurston 59-20
Standout guard DaShae Cochran became Winchester Thurston’s all-time leading scorer and helped the second-seeded Bears earn a victory over No. 7 Burgettstown in the nightcap.
Cochran made a three with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter to hit 1,400 points for her career.
She finished with 21 points and Jasmine Hollins had 25, hitting four three-pointers.
The Bears (20-3) led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter and cruised from there.
Burgettstown (17-7) enters the consolation bracket to try to earn a spot in the state tournament.
Rochester 12 11 14 10 – 47
Fort Cherry 15 11 3 10 – 39
Rochester: Kamryn Newman, 19 points; Tia Yellock, 15.
Fort Cherry: Brooke Cornali, 15 points.
Burgettstown 7 7 2 4 – 20
Winchester Thurston 21 15 17 6 – 59
Burgettstown: Marlee Martin, 5 points; Savanna Rush 5.
Winchester Thurston: Jasmine Hollins, 25 points; DaShae Cochran, 21.